LETTERS

Why Avedisian

Posted 8/28/14

To the Editor:

A few thoughts on the mayoral primary as I still consider myself a somewhat new Warwick resident, having bought a home here in 2010. My wife had taken a much more fulfilling job in …

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LETTERS

Why Avedisian

Posted

To the Editor:

A few thoughts on the mayoral primary as I still consider myself a somewhat new Warwick resident, having bought a home here in 2010. My wife had taken a much more fulfilling job in social services, but at less pay, and I closed my small business and had enrolled at URI, which I have just completed – a B.A. in political science. So our home budget shrank quite a bit. Our modest home in South County had a substantial mortgage payment and, more significantly, a pretty substantial – and rising – tax bill. I should also share that my previous community does not even provide trash pickup. So we “downsized” to Warwick, and it’s been a great decision.

While no municipality is run perfectly, Warwick benefits from some advantages, especially the diverse tax base. More suburban communities simply have too much residential and not enough counterbalancing commercial property in the mix. Residential is also a double issue because those properties add students to the schools, and at around $14,000 per child per year that gets expensive fast. Warwick’s school enrollment has been falling, which helps, too.

Also, we didn’t have sewers (or natural gas!). Warwick does. As soon as I could afford to, I connected to the sewers. It was a decision I do not regret. Good for the bay, and no worries. As far as other services, our DPW comes by every week and collects trash, leaves and recycling without fail and the roads are plowed on time at every storm.

We also didn’t have a city pool. This current Warwick administration has also renovated our historic City Hall and clock tower and facilitated the conversion of Rocky Point not for development, but permanent open space for public use. They have, despite the financial crisis, put the pieces together for the Apponaug Circulator overhaul, now underway, which will be a great improvement, really nice. We have a nationally accredited, busy police department that is responsive.

Mayor Scott Avedisian has been in office since before I arrived, and things have run pretty smoothly with all that progress. Some have complained about “tax increases,” and I agree that no one likes taxes. His primary opponent is running on that issue as well as the unfunded liabilities issue. So I looked for her solution to this issue and found no real specifics yet. I also looked at the property tax history in her neighborhood, which is easy to find on Zillow.com, and found them to have increased less than 2 percent per year since she moved in. The city did add a car tax, initially trying for a reduction in exempted value to the state minimum of $500, but after the Car Tax Revolt, responded as a democracy would, and compromised to a higher exempted amount. This was important to me personally because I wanted to see the most financially challenged residents, as well as those on Social Security, able to buy a modest car worth less than the exemption and avoid at least that cost. Elected city officials heard the public and compromised.

We have some “unfunded liability” costs ahead, for which this administration and past few councils have made some adjustments to keep that problem from eating up all our tax dollars, and there is probably more work to do, but it was not ignored.

As an unaffiliated voter, I’m not involved in the primary, but I did put my Avedisian For Mayor sign out to show that, on balance, I feel Avedisian, with his experience, track record and notable progress, is the best choice right now.

Chris Prata

Warwick

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  • rtwhit55

    As an unaffiliated voter,you can vote in the primary,and then disaffiliate.

    Wednesday, September 3, 2014 Report this